John B. Schmitz Building - Denton County Courthouse Square Historic District - Denton, TX
N 33° 12.961 W 097° 08.027
14S E 673920 N 3676787
At one time the home of Schmitz Furniture and Funeral Home, the 1878 building at 207 N Elm St is a contributing building to the Denton County Courthouse Square Historic District.
Waymark Code: WMRK5K
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/02/2016
Views: 3
In 2016, this building was vacant, but it had been used for commercial purposes for some time, with the last tenant being Barefoot Outfitters, Late in the year, a clothing store, the Zig Zag Stripe, moved in.
Denton, from Arcadia's "Images of America" series, notes that John B. Schmitz came to Denton in 1878. He was a cabinet and organ maker, and by 1890, he was selling furniture on the first floor of his store on Oak Street, and caskets on the second floor. After a 1924 fire on the square, Mr. Schmitz relocated to this location, where the business operated until 1960. Mr. Schmitz may have been the first embalmer in Denton, and today, the family is still involved with the funeral business.
The registration form (see optional link) notes that this building is one of a few buildings in this district to still have their original façades from the late nineteenth century.